There’s been a lot to like about the Blues this year: wins over Sydney, GWS and Essendon plus some competitive losses, and at the end of every match we hear Brendon Bolton saying they’re heading in the right direction with a young and eager list.

But is it really the case?

The team that lost to Melbourne last weekend was older and more experienced than the Demons, as has been the case in half of Carlton’s games this year.

This is a club that can’t use youth as an excuse.

They also can’t use a lack of class, with four number one draft picks and a total of 21 first-rounders on their list – more even than the Giants.

So can they afford to hold on to a couple of historically underachieving senior players just because they’ve hit a patch of form as contract negotiations come around?

Carlton needs to be committed to its promised rebuild. At the moment they’re sitting 16th with a list right in the middle of the league average for age and experience, and Patrick Cripps and Sam Docherty aside, their best players have been Matthew Kreuzer, Bryce Gibbs, Kade Simpson and Marc Murphy – all on the wrong side of their 28th birthdays.

The Blues should say thanks, and sorry, to Thomas to free up some salary cap and a spot for a kid.

And they should look at trading Jones while he’s hot. At 26 he’s got plenty of football ahead of him, but there’s far from any certainty it will be good football.